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We are a family run farm, that started in 1968. We are based in a small village near Cheltenham. Currently the 2nd generation are farming and we hope to pass it on to the 3rd generation one day in the future.
Both our Dairy and Poultry operations have roof mounted solar panels to harvest the sunshine at peak times of electricity usage and can release it to the grid when not needed on the farms. The poultry houses are warmed by a large biomass wood chip burner that is reducing the need to burn fossil fuels. A by-product of the poultry farm is the manure, which is an excellent fertilizer for the growing of crops to feed to the dairy cows, and in turn this reduces our need for artificial fertilizer. On land adjoining our farm, there are 80 acres of ground mounted solar panels and these acces the grid via a substation located on our farm. This produces a staggering 30MW of green electricity. Renewable Energy is a key part of our farming operation, and as soon as it is viable we would welcome the opportunity to invest in Anaerobic Digestion of the cows manure at the dairy site. With the current number of cows and a bit of feed stock, we should be able to run a 500kw AD plant to offset the farm's electricity consumption and support the nation's power supply, via the grid.
We have 380 milking cows, which are split up into 3 groups depending on how much milk they give and when they calved. We do this to give them the best care possible, and so they get the right diet to keep them happy and healthy. Most of our herd consists of Holstein Friesians, but we are starting to cross these with Viking Reds, so as they are stronger and live the best life possible.
Tredington house farm, also has lots of lovely baby calves born every day. To make sure that we don't miss a cow calving, we regularly check up on the cows and if we find one calving, we try to leave them to themselves but sometimes we have to help them to make sure that the cow is not hurt. The beef calves are split into five pens of five, so as they can play together but not feel overcrowded. Currently, we have 500 cattle in total and of that 120 are young stock (babies). The youngstock are split up into 3 groups. We have 20 little individual hutches where they go from birth to 4 weeks old. They can learn to walk here without the pressure of other calves around them, but still see and make nose to nose contact with other calves. Then, from 4 weeks to weaning ( 8-9 weeks), they go to the group where they have milk, which is a pen of 5 calves so that they can play together. After that, they go into groups of roughly 25 so they can make lots of friends. The calf's have proper silage here, and a little bit of calf cake. They are here until they are ready to have a calf and start milking.
We also have 420,000 chickens evenly split between 8 big sheds, where we can control their climate so they are always as happy as possible. We take care of every chick right from start to finish, ensuring they have the correct air temperature, lots of feed and water and we ensure that they enjoy their time with us.
Occasionally, we also have a few pigs. They have a huge paddock to themselves so they can run around and explore in as much space as possible, which means that they are also free to dig up as much soil as they would like. Their names are Dotty, Snorty and Timmy. They are very friendly and come running to you whenever you enter their pen. We feel this makes for the very best sausages!
We have some puppies from our lovely black Labrador called Tess. In the two litters that Tess has had, both times she has had 8 adorable puppies and both times we have been fortunate enough to have a mixture of black, red and sometimes white. She is really well behaved, which means she is great to have out shooting or with the family in front of the fire.
We encourage farm visits to both the Dairy and the Poultry farms. We have had and continue to have visits from Nurseries, Schools, Young farmers Clubs and corporate business education days. We feel it is really important to encourage everyone to come on farm and see the care and attention to detail that we give every animal under our care. People are so interested in how and what we do, especially the children, who without this opportunity might not understand the important role farming plays in feeding and powering the world whilst remaining at the forefront of controlling climate and nurturing nature.
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